The Federal Road Safety Corps has confirmed the death of at least 19 people in a fatal road accident that occurred on Sunday along the Lokoja-Obajana road in Kogi State.
State Sector Commander of the FRSC, Mr. Kumar Tsukwam, disclosed the development to the News Agency of Nigeria in Lokoja on Monday. He stated that eight other individuals sustained various degrees of injuries.
According to Tsukwam, the victims who survived suffered from cuts, bruises, fractures, dislocations, and burns.
The tragic incident, which happened at the Gadabiu community in Lokoja Local Government Area at about 4 p.m., involved a collision between a Toyota Hummer Bus en route to Abuja from the South and an articulated truck.
The sector commander revealed that five of the 19 persons burnt to death were children.
“It was very unfortunate, because it was caused by speeding and wrongful overtaking and involved 27 persons with only eight survivors,” Tsukwam said.
He explained that the Hummer Bus had attempted to overtake an articulated vehicle at high speed, only to encounter another oncoming truck head-on, leading to the catastrophic crash.
“Our rescue operation team and the police were able to rescue the eight survivors and rushed them to Fisayo Hospital, Obajana for immediate medical attention,” he added.
Mr. Tsukwam emphasized that the nation’s highways are not racetracks and urged drivers to steer clear of excessive speeding and dangerous overtaking maneuvers.
He further appealed to all road users to adhere strictly to traffic rules and regulations, stressing that such discipline would significantly reduce the rate of crashes and fatalities across Nigeria’s road network.
